I received an email from Gary, one of my closest friends, who picked me up at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, CA, the night I returned home from Vietnam in 1971. He wished me Happy Memorial Day and thanked me for my service. It seems like yesterday that Gary and I were kids.

Like you, I drove to work the other day and saw hundreds, if not thousands of American flags adorning the roadways near my home in Texas. Call me sentimental, but tears always well up in my eyes when I think about the real hero’s that I met those many years ago, but spent far too little time with. I know that soon, God will adjust for that missed time.

To the defenders of this great country, including those who are currently in harms way and those who found themselves there during sometime in their lives, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! Very special thanks must also go out to our current and past uniformed military personnel, who, at a seconds notice, would be, or would have been right there next to us in any hostile land.

Finally, thank all of you, who thank all of us! Every time one of you thanks us for our efforts, it humbles us. As an old guy, I now know with certainty, that your prayers sustained us. War is a lonely place, but every war veteran knows that they are risking their lives, in part, to protect this great land and all of those in it that we so dearly love!